What to Do for a Senior Who Needs Help with Personal Care

Recognizing that your elderly loved one has limitations and challenges that are keeping them from being able to handle their ongoing needs successfully is the first step in becoming their family caregiver. Once you have identified these issues you can then establish a routine of care that includes assistance and support that will help them to overcome these challenges and limitations, or to work with them so that they can continue to fulfill their needs and live the lifestyle that they deserve.

Senior Care in Bedford TX: Helping with Personal Care Tasks

Discovering that your elderly parent needs help with their personal care needs can be a challenging situation for both of you. These difficulties can stem from a variety of issues, including balance problems, mobility issues, low vision, and cognitive functioning limitations. They can also be upsetting for your senior and emotionally stressful for you. Start by constructing your care routine around helping them to handle these personal needs in a way that is respectful, dignified, and supports the highest quality of life possible.

Some ways that you can help a senior with personal care needs include:

• Talk to them about their needs. It might be your first compulsion to skirt around the issues of their personal care needs and simply not talk about them to try to ease embarrassment and discomfort. This, however, is likely to actually work in the opposite way. Not talking about these needs can make your parent feel isolated and as though they should be ashamed of what they are dealing with, rather than feeling supported and assisted. Talk to your loved one honestly and respectfully, and have the tell you the challenges that they are facing and how they think that you can help.
• Encourage independence. If your parent is having difficulties with their personal care needs, such as bathing, dressing, or toileting, it does not mean that you need to immediately jump in and start doing things for them. Instead, find as many ways as possible to encourage independence so that your parent can handle as much as possible on their own. Simple changes such as adding grab bars on either side of the toilet and in the shower and using tools such as a handheld shower-head can help your parent to overcome the challenges that they have and maintain more independence in their personal care needs.
• Consider help. Accepting that they need assistance with personal care can be extremely difficult emotionally. They are likely uncomfortable with the thought of needing help with such a personal task, particularly from their adult child, and may feel embarrassed. A senior care provider can make a major difference in this situation. A care provider is a neutral professional, which can ease your parent’s discomfort and help them to feel more at ease accepting this type of care

Starting senior care for your elderly loved one can be one of the best decisions that you make in the course of your caregiver journey with them. A senior home care services provider can be with your parent on a schedule that is right for them, meaning that they are available to care for your parent when and as much as they need them, and however fits in with the care efforts that you already give. It is a common misconception that senior care is only for seniors who are dealing with serious challenges or who are very “old”. This, however, is not the case. Even if your aging loved one is still active and only has mild to moderate needs, they can still receive a wide variety of benefits from care. The highly personalized services of a senior home care services provider can act as a support system, helping your parent to save time and energy for the things that they want to do in life.

If you or an aging loved-one are considering senior care in Bedford, TX, please contact the caring staff at Custom Caregivers today. Call us at (972) 702-7988.